


Life's A Gambit

by SoulSlayer



Series: Changing Our Destiny - Season 2 (A Destiny AU) [2]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:08:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24626764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoulSlayer/pseuds/SoulSlayer
Summary: Fireteam Paralight are introduced to Gambit by a rogue Lightbearer that goes by the name of Drifter. But as they take part in the fighting, Rae begins to notice something odd about the Hunter they were matched with for the rounds.
Series: Changing Our Destiny - Season 2 (A Destiny AU) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1777495
Kudos: 8





	1. A Rogue's Gambit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fireteam Paralight are introduced to Gambit by a rogue Lightbearer that goes by the name of Drifter. But as they take part in the fighting, Rae begins to notice something odd about the Hunter they were matched with for the rounds.

“So let me get this straight…” Blaze began as she walked alongside her Fireteam, “This random hobo shows up at the tower and invites you to bring us and take part in a thing called Gambit…and you said yes?”

“…well when you put it that way…” Rae laughed nervously.

“And you call me the impulsive one?”

“It can’t be that bad. Think of it as Crucible…just a bit more deadly.”

Blaze sighs as she mutters, “You really did become me while I was away.”

The Fireteam sneaked through the alleyways of the Bazaar until they approached a man with short dark hair and green and red clothing. He had noticeable scarring on his face. “I’m back. Brought my team this time.” Rae announced as she approached the man. “So this is the infamous Paralight, eh?” he began, tossing a jade coin in the air and catching it, “Welcome to Gambit, kids! Call me Drifter.”

“Blaisel Kiria, but you can call me Blaze.” Blaze greeted. “Adam Bergfalk.” Adam followed. “Nice to meet ya.” Drifter shrugged, “So, here’s how this works: you’re gonna compete against another Fireteam in a hunt for the enemies of Humanity. I name ‘em; you kill ‘em. Now they’re gonna leave some stuff behind. Pick ‘em up and drop ‘em in the bank, as proof that you’re doing your job. Better you do your job, the rougher you make it for the other team.”

“Sounds simple enough.” Blaze smirked. “But!” Drifter interrupted, holding his hand out and twisting it to suddenly reveal a jade coin, “There’s a twist.”

“Wha-?! Where did-?! How’d you-?!”

“I knew she’d be freaked out by that.” Rae chuckled, as Drifter continued, “Y’all gonna have to bang knuckles, face-to-face, with the other team from time to time. And lemme tell ya, if there’s one thing I’ve learned in all my travels: Nothin’ kills a Guardian faster…than another Guardian. You in?”

“Sounds like a good way to train.” Adam muttered, “Defeat enemies, along with the chance to observes the tactics of other Guardians. I suppose it can’t hurt to try.”

“I’m down too.” Blaze grinned, stretching a bit, “I’ve been meaning to let out some stress.”

“I guess that settles it.” Rae nodded, “We’re in.”

“Woo! Ol' Drifter get's to see the famous three heroes in action!” Drifter cheered, “Get ready to be bad guys!”

* * *

The three Guardians arrived on the Drifter’s ship – the Derelict. Rae saw another Fireteam on the other side of the ship: a Hunter, a Titan, and two Warlocks. “Wait a sec.” Blaze began, noticing the other team, “They have four and we only have-”

Blaze was cut off by the clunking of metal as a figure transmatted in beside her. It was a Hunter wearing a navy cloak with dark purple robes with pink and periwinkle accents underneath and matching boots. The Hunter’s face was hidden by a matching helmet and the hood of the cloak. The Hunter stood next to Fireteam Paralight without a word, not even seeming to acknowledge the team. “Never mind then…” Blaze muttered, taking a step away from the Hunter.

“Alright, alright, alright.” Drifter’s voice rang out as he stepped onto a platform between the two teams and tossed his coin into the air before catching it and pressing it against his arm, “Let’s see what we got.” Drifter held up the coin which, whereas it previously had a symbol of two intertwined snakes, now had the Fallen symbol, “Fallen on the horizon!”

“Eliksni, eh? Shouldn’t be too hard.” Adam noted. “Hey, you took down that Skolas guy, yeah? You ever headbutt a Kell?” Drifter called down to Blaze.

“Uh, no?” Blaze replied with a raised eyebrow.

“Don’t – you’ll break your neck. Use bullets.”

“Speaking from experience?”

“I’ll never tell. Prepare for transmat!”

In the blink of an eye, Fireteam Paralight found themselves on the Emerald Coast. “Well, you heard the man.” Rae piped up, getting her auto-rifle at the ready, “Let’s be bad guys.”

* * *

“Portal’s up! Go look ‘em in the eyes.”

Round 2. Though struggling at first, Paralight and their Hunter ally managed to win the first round. A portal opened up as Rae banked a handful of motes into the bank. Nearly as soon as it went up, Rae saw the mysterious Hunter rush by her and jumped straight into the portal and within a matter of seconds, Paralight heard Drifter begin to laugh, “Hahahahahaaa! I’m sorry, were they sayin’ somethin’?! ‘Cuz they’re DEAD NOW!”

"This guy's crazy...I love it!" Blaze laughed through the comms.

The Hunter then appeared back in the arena, Shadowshot bow in hand. “Did you take out all four Guardians that quickly by yourself?!” Rae exclaimed. The Hunter just gave her a thumbs up before dashing off to find more motes. “I swear there's something familiar about that Hunter…” Rae muttered, before dashing off herself.

* * *

“Primeval compromised. Burn it down!”

All four team members swarmed the Primeval as the final envoy went down. Rae heard a sickening thump as the Hunter went flying past her, being knocked backwards by the Primeval. The impact cracked a part of her mask, but the Hunter shook it off and got back into the fight. It was brief, but Rae noticed something as the Hunter stood back up. The area where the helmet was cracked open revealed three large gashes on the Hunter’s tanned cheek.

“No way…” Rae muttered. “Head in the game, Rae-Rae!” Blaze called out, “We’ve almost won!”

“R-right! Daybreak ready!” Rae snapped out of her stupor as she felt a fiery surge fill her body. A pair of fiery wings shot out of her back as a large sword appeared in her hand. Rae jumped into the air, wings lifting her up high, and the Dawnblade Warlock dove down towards the Primeval.

_*SLASH!!!*_

With one final strike, the Primeval went down.

Fireteam Paralight were the victors.

* * *

As the Fireteam transmatted back to the Derelict, Rae walked over to the mysterious Hunter, “Hey. Great work out there.”

The Hunter nodded in acknowledgement.

“So…how long are you gonna keep the act up?”

The Hunter seemed to tense up at Rae's statement. Blaze and Adam looked at Rae in confusion. The Drifter, who was already walking towards the group, raised an eyebrow in interest. “Rae, what are you talking about?” Blaze asked. “You fooled me at first.” Rae began, addressing the mysterious Hunter, “But your fighting style, your Shadowshot bow, and now the scars you have there on your cheek…”

The Hunter immediately slapped a hand over her cheek where the mask was cracked as Rae continued, “It was obvious then. So are you gonna drop the act…Marcia?”

There was a tense silence between the five Lightbearers before a sigh from the Hunter broke it. “Pfft! Hahaha! Alright, alright…you got me, punk.” The Hunter removed the mask and hood to reveal familiar pink eyes, tanned skin, black and periwinkle hair…and a periwinkle mark under the left eye, “Nice to see ya again, Rae. How long’s it been? 3 years?”

“Give or take.” Rae replied. “Holy smokes…” Blaze gasped.

“Ha! I knew they’d figure it out.” Drifter laughed, “Took one look at your fightin' style and knew it was you right away. Good to see ya, Marcia.”

“And to you, Wu. Oh, wait. It’s Eli. Or was it Dredgen Hope? No, it was Germaine, right?” Marcia smirked before getting a jade coin flicked at her forehead, “ **ACK!!** Yep! You haven’t changed, Drifter.”

“Wait, you two know each other?” Adam asked. “Yep.” Drifter replied with a smirk as he caught his coin, “Had a few run-ins with ol’ Marcia here during my time in the wilds. Before she became the Rogue Queen.”

“‘Ol‘ Marcia’?” Marcia folded her arms, “Preeeetty sure you’re older than me in terms of Guardian years, ya geezer- **OW!!** Quit it with the coin already!”

Drifter just chuckled as he caught the coin again before addressing Paralight, “Good job out there, mavericks. Might just make bad guys of you heroes yet! You kids ever wanna play some Gambit, you know where to find me.”

And just like that, the Fireteam were transmatted back to the Tower. The three Guardians just stood there for a moment before Rae sighed.

"These two are gonna be a handful, aren't they?"

_To Be Continued..._


	2. Snitches Get Stitches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rae and co. are wondering what Marcia’s connection to Drifter is. So the trio sneak into the Annex to spy on the two rogues. But let’s be honest. Paralight and stealth missions do NOT mix.

“I have questions.”

Adam approached Rae and Blaze who were standing outside the Annex. “So do we! That’s why we’re here!” Blaze grinned, “So that Gambit match. Marcia not only shows up out of nowhere after 3 freaking years, but apparently she knows Hobo McCrazy there.”

“Hobo McCrazy?” Adam raised an eyebrow. “Blaze has a point.” Rae added.

“She does?”

“I do? I mean, yeah I do!”

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious about how they know each other.” Rae continued, “Aside from the fact they’re both rogue Lightbearers.”

“And let me guess…we’re going to spy on them?” Adam asked. “Yep!” Blaze replied with her usual grin of mischief. Adam sighed, “This isn’t going to end well, is it?”

* * *

Fireteam Paralight sneaked through the halls of the Annex, sticking to the shadows, towards where Drifter usually hung around. They spotted him leaning against the railing tossing one of his jade coins in the air. He proceeded to do so a few more times before letting out a frustrated sigh, “Damn…I’m hungry.”

“You called?”

Drifter jumped slightly as he went for his gun until he realised it was only Marcia decloaking behind him with two boxes of ramen in her hands. "Someone's gotten jumpy since I last saw 'em!"

“Very funny!” Drifter rolled his eyes as he took one of the boxes and a pair of chopsticks from Marcia. “Don’t lie. You missed me!” Marcia grinned, “Blaze tells me this is the best ramen in the city, and she ain’t wrong if I’m honest.”

“Which one is Blaze again?”

“The literal hot-headed Awoken Hunter.”

Rae glanced at Blaze who was remaining quiet but had an eye-twitch and Rae could feel small waves of heat coming from her. “Well, call her what you want.” Drifter said as he plopped some noodles in his mouth with the chopsticks, “That kid gets the job done in Gambit.”

Blaze’s agitated expression changed to one of pride.

“Plus it’s hilarious when she gets smacked in the face by the Primeval. Especially if she’s usin’ that fire power of hers. It’s like watchin’ a meteor go flyin’ across the arena!”

And back to agitated.

“Well, you gotta admit,” Marcia began, swallowing a piece of beef, “For a bunch of Tower-huggers, those three ain’t half bad. I mean, they were split up for like 2 years and they’re still as strong a team as they were last I saw ‘em.”

“Speakin’ of last times,” Drifter began, finishing the last of the ramen, “I’ve told you what I’ve been up to since we last saw each other, but you’ve told me nothin’!”

“Let’s see…” Marcia thought for a sec, “It was before…geez, the last time we talked was before the City Age, wasn’t it?”

“Yup.”

“Man, it’s been that long? Huh.” Marcia shrugged, “Well, I started my own little group called the Umbrialyx. Next thing I knew I was the Rogue Queen. Helped out the old Hunter Vanguard a couple of times before he was put in the dirt by a Eliksni bastard named Taniks and Cayde took over. Cut off all ties with the Tower then until Paralight showed up. Then it was quiet for a bit, Oryx came to mess stuff up because he was salty over Paralight killing his kid, Paralight then killed him, quiet again for a bit – aside from Taken showing up around Old Russia that yours truly had to clean up. Then Gavin, Gary, Gillicuddy, whatever his name was, came and stole the Light, making the Umbrialyx vulnerable. Red Legion wiped most of us out. I was alone out in the wilds again for about a year. Heard from some Guardians that ‘some weird hobo guy’ showed up at the Tower, and I was like ‘Hey! I know a weird hobo guy!’. So I came back to see if it was really you, and the rest is history.”

“Weird hobo guy? Really?” Drifter raised an eyebrow with a smirk, “And Rogue Queen? I don’t remember voting for you.”

“I’m the QUEEN. It’s a monarchy! You don’t vote in a monarchy!”

“Then I'm rebellin''!”

Marcia let out a laugh, “You’re ridiculous, ya know that? Besides, the Umbrialyx is disbanded so I ain't a queen anymore.”

“What can I say? You rubbed off on me.” Drifter shrugged before smirking, “Hey…if you’re the queen, what does that make me, huh?”

“Hmm…I suppose it makes you the king then.” Marcia grinned as she shot Drifter a wink.

***THUMP!!!***

“OW!”

“ACK! Blaze!”

“What!? What did I do!?”

“Guys…”

The three Guardians, who had fallen in a heap on top of each other upon Blaze’s outburst, looked up to see Marcia and Drifter glancing down at them with confused expressions. “Uh…we can explain?” Rae grinned nervously, but was cut off by Blaze, “You two are a couple?! Since when?!”

“Uhh…I think it was sometime after we put down Cenric, Jaak, Otto, Ayrin, and Thalia, wasn’t it?” Marcia asked, glancing at Drifter. “Yeah, ‘cause it was after Efrideet shot up the bar.” Drifter confirmed, “And after I had that meeting with Felwinter.”

“Yeah and it was WAY before that Taken Captain kicked Paralight’s butts for being lil’ snitches!”

“Oh yeah, definitely!”

“Wait, what Take-?”

Rae was cut off by a low, distorted growl behind her.

“…son of a Thrall…”

* * *

Ikora looked over the City from her post in the Bazaar. The sun was setting behind the horizon as the sky was a beautiful blend of oranges, golds, pinks and purples. It was quiet in the Bazaar, a rare event nowadays ever since Paralight reunited, as their usual antics often broke the silence in moments like this.

**“I HAVE SO MANY REGRETS!!!”**

**“THIS IS WHY I SAY TO HAVE OUR GUNS ON US AT ALL TIMES!!”**

“Less talking, more running!”

Ikora sighed as she turned around to see the afore mentioned Fireteam being chased by a Taken Captain. Ikora shook her head as she heard Hawthorne mutter nearby, “What is with this Tower? Is this a usual thing?”

“With Paralight? Oh yes.”

Marcia and Drifter watched from the Annex entrance, chuckling to themselves. "Ha! They actually fell for that!" Drifter laughed, "That's what they get for snoopin'!"

"Paralight; they're strong but also pretty dumb." Marcia smirked, shaking her head.

"Yeah. But that Blaze kid. I ain't lyin' when I said she showed promise in Gambit. Might make a Dredgen of her yet."

"Good luck. Rae'll kick your butt the moment she finds out."

"Ah, I'll have you to watch my six. I ain't worried."

"Mm-hm..." Marcia just patted Drifter's shoulder with a smirk before heading down to the Annex.

"Marcia? Marci, you are gonna have my back if she tries somethin' right? Marcia, I ain't jokin', that kid is like a mini-Ikora minus the big-ass shotgun, I'll need back up! Hey, don't just walk away, kid! Marci!"

_End of Life's A Gambit._


End file.
